(1)
Purpose. The
purpose of
322
CMR 16.07 is to set forth the protocols and
performance standards of the Vibrio Management Plan for
shellfish harvesters and dealers to minimize the risk to consumers of
pathogens, including Vibrio parahaemolyticus
(Vp) associated with consumption of raw oysters.
322
CMR 16.07 applies to commercial fishers and
dealers possessing shellstock oysters.
(2)
Definitions. For
the purpose of
322
CMR 16.05, the following terms hold the
following meanings:
Adequately Iced means the amount and
methods of applying ice to completely surround all the oysters in a shellfish
icing container to ensure their immediate and ongoing cooling, as further
specified at
322
CMR 16.07(3).
Adequately Shaded means the measures
required to be taken to protect oysters from direct exposures to
sunlight.
Broadcast Re-submergence means the
return of loose, market-sized oysters to the waters of the original licensed
shellfish aquaculture grant site from which they were harvested following the
off-site culling and/or oyster culture activities requiring re-submergence,
specified in
322
CMR 16.07(4).
Market Bound Oysters means all oysters
removed from a designated shellfish growing area by a commercial fisher
intended for commercial purposes on that calendar day.
Market Sized Oysters means those
oysters that measure at least three inches shell length or 21/2 inches
shell length for those shellfish aquaculturists authorized by the Division
pursuant
322
CMR 6.20(3):
Restrictions on Oysters and Quahogs Raised by Aquaculturists and Sold
to Dealer to possess and sell "petit" oysters.
Off-site Culling means an aquaculture
practice of temporarily removing shellfish from the licensed shellfish
aquaculture grant site to a shellfish aquaculturists' permitted off-site
culling location for the purposes of sorting, grading and cleaning the
individual shellfish.
Oyster Culture Activities means
activities conducted by some shellfish aquaculturists that involve the removal
of oysters from the waters of the licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site for
the purposes of sorting, culling, grading, pitting, over-wintering and/or the
removal of fouling organisms to enhance oyster marketability.
Re-submergence means the return of
market size oysters back to the water of the licensed shellfish aquaculture
grant site from which they were harvested after being previously removed for
off-site culling and/or oyster culture activities, or after being returned by a
primary buyer, as a result of recall specified at
322
CMR 16.07(4).
Shellfish Icing Container means a
conveyance that is smooth, in good condition, is easily cleaned, impervious to
water, insulated, self-draining, has a tight fitting lid, and a light-colored
exterior.
Time of Icing means the time when the
last oyster or bag of oysters in a harvester's lot is placed in a shellfish
icing container and is adequately iced in accordance with the procedure at
322
CMR 16.07(3).
Vp Logbook means the
Division issued logbook required to be used by all commercial fisher during the
Vp season to record required icing and re-submergence
information described at
322
CMR 16.07(3) and (4).
Vp Season means the
time period from May 19th through October
19th when the Vibrio Management
Plan is in effect.
(3)
Commercial Harvester Restrictions. The following shall
apply to all commercial fishers harvesting oysters during the
Vp season.
(a)
Icing Requirements.
1.
General Time to
Icing. All commercial fishers shall adequately ice oysters, as
defined in
322
CMR 16.07(2), within two
hours of time of harvest or exposure, or prior to leaving the point of landing,
whichever occurs first. Oysters must remain adequately iced until received by a
wholesale dealer. This requirement shall be waived if the responsibility for
icing is taken on by the wholesale dealer at the landing site at primary
purchase and the primary purchase occurs within two hours of time of
harvest.
2.
Seasonal
Time to Icing Requirements for Certain Growing Areas. From July
1st through September
15th, all commercial fishers who are harvesting
oysters in shellfish growing areas CCB-42, CCB-43, CCB-44, CCB-45, CCB-46,
CCB-47 and V-20, shall adequately ice oysters, as defined in
322
CMR 16.07(2), within one
hour of time of harvest or exposure, or prior to leaving the point of landing,
whichever occurs first. Oysters must remain adequately iced until received by a
wholesale dealer.
3.
Methods for Icing. To meet the time to icing
requirements specified at
322
CMR 16.07(3)(a), commercial
fisher shall place oysters and ice into a shellfish icing container using one
of the following methods:
a. Mesh bags
containing oysters shall be completely and continuously covered by ice,
including at the bottom of the container and each level of bags, so that each
bag is continuously and completely covered with ice.
b. Loose oysters placed into a shellfish
icing container shall be completely and continuously covered by ice, including
at the bottom and sides of the container so that each oyster is completely and
continuously covered with ice.
c.
Oysters held in an ice and water mixture (e.g., ice slurry or
cold water dip) shall be fully submerged and the ice and water mixture must be
at or below 45EF to inhibit growth and proliferation of bacteria; or
d. All ice and/or water used to cool oysters
shall originate from a fresh potable water source or ocean water from an area
classified as "Approved" or "Conditionally Approved" by the Division of Marine
Fisheries and in the "open status".
(b)
Shading
Requirement. All commercial fishermen shall adequately shade
oysters, as defined in
322
CMR 16.07(2) immediately
following harvest and until oysters are adequately iced. Materials in direct
contact with oysters or bags of oysters must be smooth, easily cleanable and
impervious to water.
(c)
Shellfish Icing Tag Requirement. In addition to the
tagging requirements at
322
CMR 16.05, commercial fishermen shall record
the time of icing on all harvester tags affixed to containers of oysters or
record the time of icing on a single harvester tag attached to a shellfish
icing container. The use of a single harvester tag for the purpose of meeting
this shellfish icing tag requirements does not exempt commercial fishermen from
attaching harvester tags, as specified at
322
CMR 16.05, to all individual containers of
market bound shellfish. A single harvester tag for the purpose of meeting the
shellfish icing tag requirements may be used in instances when:
1. All oysters in the shellfish icing
container are from a single harvester lot;
2. The shellfish icing tag is attached to the
shellfish icing container at the time of icing and remains attached to the
shellfish icing container until received by the primary buyer; and
3. The shellfish icing tag also includes the
time of harvest, harvest date, harvest area, harvester identification and
quantity (in pieces) of oysters harvested.
(d)
Logbook
Requirement. When landing oysters, all commercial fishermen must
have in their possession the Division issued Vp logbook. The
harvester, or his or her licensed employee, shall record in indelible ink the
date, shellfish growing area, time of harvest, time of icing, quantity
harvested (in pieces), and the dealer who received the product. The
Vp logbook shall be filled out by the permit holder, or his or
her licensed employee, at the time of landing before the day's harvest is
placed in transit or leaves the landing site except that the primary buyer
information may be completed upon receipt of the market bound oysters by the
primary buyer.
(e)
Restrictions on Transport of Market Bound Oysters to the Primary
Buyer. All market bound oysters shall be transported by the
harvester, or his or her licensed employee, directly to the primary buyer's
physical facility or received by the primary buyer at the landing site.
Commercial fishermen are prohibited from handling and/or holding market bound
oysters at any unlicensed facility prior to receipt by the primary
buyer.
(4)
Restrictions that Apply to Shellfish Aquaculturists
Only.
(a)
Re-submergence Requirements for Off-site Culling
Practices. Market-sized oysters may be removed by a shellfish
aquaculturist from licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site for the purpose of
off-site culling, provided:
1. All removed
oysters are returned to and segregated on the licensed shellfish aquaculture
grant site of at least ten days prior to being harvested for commercial
purposes;
2. Off-site culling
activities are conducted in accordance with conditions to the Aquaculture
Propagation Permit, issued to the shellfish aquaculturist by the Division
pursuant to the authority at M.G.L. c. 130, § 80, and
322
CMR 7.01(7):
Conditions; and
3.
Shellfish aquaculturists shall notify the local municipal shellfish authority
prior to the removal of any shellstock from a licensed shellfish aquaculture
grant site.
(b)
Re-submergence Requirements for Oyster Processing Activities
Conducted on Barges, Boats and Other Floating Structures.
Market-sized oysters may be brought onboard barges, boats and other floating
structures for the purpose of oyster processing activities, provided:
1. All oyster processing activities that are
not conducted on the licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site shall take place
within same designated shellfish growing area as the licensed shellfish
aquaculture grant site;
2. When
oyster processing activities exceed two hours from the time of harvest or time
of first exposure, all oysters subject to such activities must be returned to
the licensed shellfish aquaculture, segregated and re-submerged for at least
ten days prior to being harvested for commercial sale; and
3. When oyster processing activities do not
exceed two hours from the time of harvest or first exposure, all oysters
subject to such activities may either be properly tagged and harvested during
that calendar day, in accordance with the procedures set forth at 322 CMR
16.00, or returned to the licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site, but shall
not be harvested until at least the following calendar day.
4. Between July
1st and September 15th,
in shellfish growing areas CCB-42, CCB-43, CCB-44, CCB-45, CCB-46, CCB-47 and
V-20, when oyster culture activities exceed the one hour time to icing
requirement at
322
CMR 16.07(3)(a)(2), but do
not exceed two hours from the time of harvest or first exposure, all oysters
subject to such activities must be returned to the licensed shellfish
aquaculture grant site and shall not be harvested until the following calendar
day.
(c)
Tagging and Logbook Requirements for Re-submerged
Oysters.
1.
Logbook
Requirements. Shellfish aquaculturists shall maintain a record in
their Vp logbook of all market-sized oysters returned to the
licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site after off-site culling or oyster
processing activities requiring re-submergence. The Vp logbook
shall be filled out at the time of re-submergence when the last market-sized
oyster is returned to the licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site, except
that the date-out information shall not be completed prior to the end of the
ten day re-submergence period.
2.
Container Tagging Requirement. All containers of
re-submerged oysters shall be marked with a waterproof green tag and legibly
labeled in indelible ink with the statement "re-submerged" and with the date
that the oysters were returned to the licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site
for re-submergence. After such oysters have remained on the licensed shellfish
aquaculture grant site for at least ten days, the green "re-submerged" tag may
be removed from the containers and the oysters may then be harvested in
accordance with those procedures set forth at 322 CMR 16.00.
3.
Alternatives to Container
Tagging Requirements. Shellfish aquaculturists who engage in
broadcast re-submergence or want to mark multiple containers of re-submerged
oysters using a single re-submergence tag shall submit a re-submergence plan
for the Division's approval at least 30 days prior to the start of the proposed
activities. The re-submergence plan shall include, at a minimum, the following
information:
a. A description of the
re-submergence method (e.g., broadcast, holding cars, cages,
etc.);
b. A
description of the segregation method to be utilized, including a site map
marking the segregated re-submergence area; and
c. A description of the re-submergence
tagging method to be utilized.
d.
All such re-submergence activities shall be conducted in accordance with the
resubmergence plan approved by the Division.
(d)
Additional Re-submergence
Restrictions.
1. Re-submergence
of oysters may only be conducted by the permitted aquaculturists on the same
licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site where the oysters originated, unless
otherwise approved in advance in writing by the Division.
2. Except as provided for at
322
CMR 16.07(4)(b),
market-sized oysters returned to a licensed shellfish aquaculture grant site
will be considered off-site culled and subject to the tagging,
Vp log book and re-submergence requirements set forth at
322
CMR 16.07(4).
(5)
Disposition and Handling of Non-compliant Oysters and Recalled
Oysters.
(a)
Destruction of Non-complaint Oysters.
1. In the event that the Division, the local
Shellfish Constable or the Massachusetts Environmental Police determines that a
commercial fisher is in possession of oysters that are in violation of the
tagging, icing or other requirements set forth at 322 CMR 16.00, such oysters
shall be destroyed and properly disposed of by the commercial fisher at his or
her own expense.
2. In the event
that oysters distributed into commerce are recalled in the case of illness,
such oysters shall be destroyed and properly disposed of by the commercial
fisher at his or her own expense.
(b)
Re-submergence of
Non-compliant Oysters.
1. In the
event of a recall resulting from the closure of a growing area due to illness,
only those oysters received from harvesters and stored at a primary buyer's
facility may be re-submerged.
2. In
the event that the Division or the Department of Public Health determines that
a primary buyer is in possession of oysters that violate the tagging, icing or
other requirements set forth at 322 CMR 16.00, such oysters may be returned to
the shellfish aquaculturists, and re-submerged and segregated on the licensed
shellfish aquaculture grant site where they originated for ten days under the
supervision of the local Shellfish Constable.
3. Shellfish aquaculturists may harvest
oysters that have been re-submerged in accordance with
322
CMR 16.05(5)(b), provided
the following actions are taken:
a. Recalled
oysters have been segregated and re-submerged on the licensed shellfish
aquaculture grant site for a minimum period of ten days;
b. Recalled oysters are tagged with a
waterproof green tag labeled in indelible ink with the statement
"non-compliant" or "recalled" and the date of re-submergence;
c. The return, segregation and re-submergence
of oysters are documented in the Vp logbook, including
recording the quantity of oysters, and date and purpose of the return and
re-submergence, in accordance with
322
CMR 16.07(4); and
d. After such oysters remain on-site for at
least ten days, the green "non-compliant" or "recalled" tag may be removed and
the oysters may then be harvested, subject to being tagged as specified in 322
CMR 16.00.
